Trimming machine



May 7, 1940 J. E. MclN'nRE TRIMMING AMAcr-IINE Filed March 14, 19:58 z'sheets-sheez 1 J. E. Mcm-NRE 2,199,506 TRIMMING MACHINE Filed laren 14, 193e 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented May 7, 1940 .A UNITED STATES v 'rmMivnNG JamesvE. Mclntire, Peabody,.Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a .corporation of New Jersey Application March 14, 193s, serai-N0. y195,720

This invention relates to trimming machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in afmachine designed particularly to dealwith a trimming problem encountered in the manufacture v of a certain type of shoe having a skeleton insole, so called because its forepart has no central substance except a patch of thin sheet ma'- terial such as .woven fabric cemented to a marv ginal band of leather. This feature of the insole l0 is due to splitting a single blank of sole-leather in such a way as to produce not only a skeleton insole but also a complementally formed outsole the forepart of which comprises a central mound consisting of the material removed from the central area of the insole as more fully disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,012,915, granted August 27, 1935, on application of Fred Maccarone.

In lasting the forepart of a shoe having a skeleton insole of the type above mentioned, the last- 12`0 ing margin of the vamp is secured with cement only to the outer margin of the leather band of the insole, which band is about three-fourths of an inch wide. The inner margin of this band is beveled in consequence of the method of cleavage by which the two mated soles are divided from a single blank to form a dished cavity in the inx sole and a sloping mound on the outsole. When the outsole is ultimately attached, its central A mound should be nested in the cavity 4of the insole, and this requirement necessitates severing from the lasted margin of the vamp all'material that would, if left, obstruct the cavity in the insole and thus prevent the mound of the outsole from being closely nested therein.

To deal with this problem the present invention provides an improved trimming machine by which the surplus material of Vthe lasted margin of the vamp may be severed virtually ilush with the beveled cavity-forming surface of the in- As herein illustrated the trimming machine embodying the present invention comprises a cutter and two Work-guiding members arranged one to be engaged by the perimeter of a shoe and the other to be engaged by the surplus material to be severed and thereby to maintain the insole out of the cutting range of the cutter.

Preferably, the trimming cutter is a rotary tube or barrel having an external conical surface at one end terminating in a circular cutting edge, the diameter of the cutter being large enough to enable a short segment of the cutting edge to sever the surplus material with a beveling cut that is, to all intents and purposes, so nearlyflush with the beveled cavity-forming' surface of the ranged to -be engaged by the material to 4be sev- 3c insole that it does not develop any break tha would interfere with ultimate nesting of the outsole. The aforesaid external conical surface of the cutter, which lies immediately behind the cutting edge, isl also instrumental in maintaining the insole `out of the cutting range, although this conical surface may actually bear on the cavityforming surface of the insole.

The invention also provides improved means to brace the shoe against lateral displacement 10 from the aforesaid guiding member intended to be engaged by the perimeter of the shoe. To provide for such bracing the other work-guiding member, hereinbefore described as being arered," is sharp-pointed and arranged to pierce the 4surplus material to a depth sucient to produce the desired bracing effect. This piercing member is preferably arranged so close to the operating segment o'f the cutting edge as to co-operlill ate with the conical surface behind the cutting edge in maintaining the insole out of the range of cutting and at the same time to permit the surplus material to be severed. As herein shown the piercing member is a freely rotatable starwheel arranged partly inside and partly outside -the mouth of the cutter.

These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and corn- .binations of parts will be described as embodied 30 in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is an elevation, partly in section, of the left-hand side of a trimming machine embody- AT ing the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding elevation of aworkguiding device included in Fig. l and provided with sharp points for bracing a shoe against lateral displacement; :lo

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine as viewed from the standpoint of an operator;

Fig; 4 is a view including the cutting portion of the` tubular cutter, a cross-section of a lasted shoe through the forepart thereof, and means for guiding and bracing the shoe in co-operative relation to the cutter. The direction of this view is parallel to thearrow in Fig. 1; and Fig.` 5 is a cross-section of a shoe through the shank portion, and includes a broken line repre- 50 senting a segment of the cutting edge of the cutlter in the act of severing two margins of surplus upper materials simultaneously. The cutter Ill (Fig. 1) is a cylindrical tube both ends offwhich are open and the axis of which 55 is virtually horizontal. The front end of this tube is ground to form an external conical surface II that intersects the internal surface to provide an acute, annular cutting edge I2. A pulley I3 is aflixed to the rear end of the tube to be driven by a belt I4. The tube is arranged in bearings I5, I5 one of which is formed in a frame I6 and the other of which is formed in an outboard supporting member I'I. Two parallel rods I8 axed to the frame I6 project horizontally therefrom and extend through bores in the outboard member I 'I' to support the latter and to provide for adjusting this member toward and from the frame I6 in accordance with the length of the tube I0, since the latter will gradually grow shorter in consequence of being repeatedly ground to sharpen its cutting edge. Thrust-bearings to present axial movement of the tube Ill are provided, one by the hub of the pulley I3 and the other by a collar I 9 secured to the tube by a set-screw. The tubular form of the cutter provides a passage through which severed materials may pass to' be discharged at the rear of the pulley I3.

As shown in Fig. 3, the cutting end of the cutter is partially enclosed in a segmental opening in a guard 20, the lower edge of which is interrupted by a ga-p of suicient Width to provide for presenting a shoe to the lower segment of the cutter. This guard is a thick plate provided with two bores to receive the outboard ends of the supporting rods I8. The guard is affixed to one of these rods by a set-screw 2 I. A bracket 22 aflixed to the guard projects therefrom toward the trimming locality to support a freely rotatable work-guiding roll 23 arranged to provide a backrest against which the perimeter of a lasted shoe may be held as' illustrated in Fig. 4. This guideroll is abreast of the trimming locality as viewed .in Fig. 1. The roll is connected to the bracket 22 by a pivot-stud 24 the head of which is countersunk in the roll.

The cutting end of the tube IIJ is preferably provided with a series of axially extending flutes 30 in its internal surface, which flutes intersect the conical external surface II. The resultant cutting edge I2 is thereby provided with salients which render it more effective for trimming purposes and for separating the severed strip from the insole wherever it may be secured with lasting cement.

A device for bracing a shoe against lateral displacement and for cooperating with the roll 23 to guide the shoe with respect to the cutting edge I2 is provided by a freely rotatable -but axially immovable star-wheel 3l of tool-steel shown separately in Fig. 2. The points of this star-wheel are so sharp and acute that a slight pressure is suicient to cause them to pierce the work and obtain a hold thereon. The wheel 3I is arranged in a cleft of corresponding width formed in a holder 32 to which it is connected by a pivot-pin 33. The holder 32 is essentially a cylindrical stem and is preferably ground to provide a flat surface 34 for engagement by a set-screw 35. The

upper portion of the holder 32 is arranged in a vertical bore in a bracket 36 fastened against the front face of the cutter-guard 20 by screws 31. The fiat face 3d is located to insure that the axis of the star-wheel will lie crosswise of the axis of the cutter and of the lines of work-feeding movement. Moreover, the connection between the stem 32 and the bracket 36 provides for adjusting the star-wheel up and down. In practice, the stem is fastened at a position that locates the circle of the points at the bottom of the starwheel virtually tangent to or slightly below the cone of the surface I I, the star-wheel being within the cone, and a segment of the wheel being within the mouth of the cutter. The points of the star-wheel that pierce the work are slightly ahead of the cutting edge I I and barely clear the cutter as they enter its mouth.

One face of the star-wheel is beveled (Fig. 3) tosharpen the points, but the other face, which is not beveled, confronts the roll 23 and lies in a plane virtually coincidental with a vertical radius of the cutter.

The cutter is preferably driven in the direction indicated by arrows in Figs. 3 and 4 to' enable the cutting segment thereof to operate without any tendency to lift the cement-lasted margin 40 of the upper from the insole or to rupture the bond of adhesion by which the upper is secured to the outer margin of the band 4I of the insole. While this direction of rotation of the cutter is the more favorable for a shoe of the typeunder consideration, it tends to displace the shoe laterally from the roll 23, but the bracing effect of the star-wheel is sufficient to prevent such displacement so long as the bottom of the shoe is held against the wheel with moderate pressure.

When the forepart of a shoe is held against the roll 23 as shown in Fig. 4 with its bottom virtually tangent to the conical surface II of the cutter as shown in Fig. 1, and is fed in the direction indicated by the arrow in the latter figure, the cutting segment -of thecutter will sever surplus materials from the margin 4D with a beveling cut virtually flush with the beveled inner margin of the insole band 4I, while the lowest segment of the cutter will occupy the cavity in the insole and engage the beveled margin of the band without actually cutting it, provided the star-wheel is located at the correct height. In considering these conditions in the light of Fig. 4 it is to be understood that before the surplus material of the margin 40 reaches the cutting edge it will lie on the beveled inner margin of the insole band 4I and will run under the star-wheel and will be slightly penetrated by the points thereof, but when severed, it will enter the cutter in the form of a strip 25.

When the forepart of a shoe is being trimmed the trimming cut progresses along a course parallel to the perimeter of the shoe, such course being controlled by a three-point bearing for the shoe provided by the roll 23, the star-wheel 3| and the conical surface II of the cutter.

Since the cutting segment has a component of movement toward the band 4I it maintains pressure of the margin 40 against the band at the line of cleavage which coincides with the boundary of the cavity in the insole. The star-wheel and the roll 23, arranged one to guide the bottom of the shoe and the other to guide the perimeter, co-operate to locate the boundary of the cavity in the insole virtually in tangent relation to the cutting segment of the cutter, while the conical surface II of the cutter pro-vides a bearing for the beveled inner margin of the band III and thus co-operates with the star-wheel .to prevent the cutting edge from cutting into that beveled margin.

Although Fig. 1 illustrates the manner of presenting a shoe to the machine for trimming the surplus material at one side,'it is to be understood that the shoe will be turned end for end to trim the surplus material at the opposite CII side, in which case the shoe will be fed heel foremost.

In lasting the shank of a shoe of the type under consideration it is usual to employ lasting staples 42 for securing the margins i0 to the insole as shown in Fig. 5. If the shank of the insole is too narrow to accommodate all the lasting allowance ofthe upper, the adjacent portions of the latter commonly stand erect and face to face along their line of meeting. These erect portions may be severed above the staples both at once by the cutter Ill, but not with the same eect as that pictured in Fig. 4. For this operation the portions to be severed will preferably be guided to the right of the star-wheel to be braced thereby and by the holder 32 which is provided with a toe portion 43 that projects ahead of the star-wheel to meet the approaching erect portions and deect them to the right. The shank may be trimmed before or after the orepart trimming. It is not necessary that the erect margins 4E in the shank be trimmed exactly alike, or that they be Skived as in the forepart (Fig. Ll), because the shank of the insole has no cavity and the shank of a mated outsole has no mound, as in the forepart. Consequently, precision in trimming the shank is of little or no consequence.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A trimming machine comprising two cooperative work-guiding members, and a poweroperated cutter arranged to sever a strip of the lasting margin of the upper lying on a surface of the insole of a lasted shoe, said cutter having a smooth surface behind its cutting edge to bearon said Surface of the insole, and one of said work-guiding members being arranged to bear on the strip to be severed and thereby cooperate with said surface of the cutter to maintain the insole out of the cutting range while said strip is being severed, and the other one of said work-guiding members being arranged to be engaged by the perimeter of the shoe-bottom.

2. A trimming machine comprising a rotary tubular cutter having an annular cutting edge at one end arranged so that a non-cutting segment thereof may travel in a cavity in the insole of a lasted shoe while the cutting segment severs a strip of a margin of upper material extending into or partially across said cavity, and a plurality of cooperativework-engaging elements by which the shoe is guided past said cutting edge, one of said guiding elements being arranged to bear on the unsevered portion of said strip that extends into said cavity and thereby guide the boundary of the cavity virtually in tangent relation tg said cutting segment.

3. A trimming machine comprising a hollow cylindrical cutter having an external conical surface at one end intersecting its internal surface and thereby forming a cutting edge, means for rotating said cutter about its axis, .and workguiding means including a sharp-pointed star wheel arranged ahead of said cutting edge and within the cone of said conical surface but virtually in tangent relation to said cone. v

4. A trimming machine as defined in claim 2 in which said work-guiding means comprises a wheel one segment of which is inside the mouth of said cutter and the work-engaging portion of which is outside the cutter.

5. A trimming machine as defined in claim 2 in which said work-guiding means comprises a sharp-pointed star-wheel arranged to brace the work against sidewise displacement, the points of said wheel being movable into and out of the mouth of the cutter as the wheel rotates about its axis.

6. A trimming machine comprising a rotary tubular cutter having an annular cutting edge at one end arranged to sever with a beveling cut a strip vof the lasting margin of upper material adhering to the vbottom of the insole of a lasted shoe, means for driving said cutter in a direction to cause its operating segment to travel from the perimeter toward the middle of the shoe-bottom, means arranged to guide the shoe by its perimeter, and means arranged to guide the shoe by engagement with its bottom, the latter said means including a sharp member arranged to pierce the shoe-bottom and thereby brace the shoe against the frictional drag of the cutter. n

'7. A trimming machine comprising a cutter arranged to sever a strip of the lasting margin of upper material lying against the insole of a lasted shoe, means for operating said cutter, and a rotatable guiding member having points arranged to pierce and leave the shoe-bottom successively as the shoe is fed and thereby brace the shoe against lateral displacement.

8. A trimming machine comprising a wheel rotatable about a fixed axis and arranged to roll on the bottom of a lasted shoe, a hollow rotary cutter having an annular cutting edge lying in a plane virtually parallel with the axis of the wheel, said cutting edge being arranged to sever a strip of the lasting margin of upper material engaged by said wheel while lying on the insole, and means for rotating said cutter about its axis. 1

9. A trimming machine comprising al rotary vtubular cutter having a conical external surface at one end terminating in an annular cutting edge, two work-guiding members arranged one to be engaged by the perimeter of a lasted shoe and the other to be engaged by the lasted margin of upper material lying against the bottom of the insole, said members being so related to said cutter as to guide a. band of the insole underlying said margin in tangent relation to a segment of said conical surface, and means for driving said cutter in a direction to maintain said margin against the insole while severing a strip thereof.

10. A trimming machine comprising a powerdriven cutter arranged to sever surplus upper material on the bottom of a lasted shoe, and a rotatable but axially immovable wheel the periphery of which is arranged to roll on the shoe-bottom at a point adjacent to the cutting locality to guide the shoe, said periphery being sharp to penetrate the shoe-bottom and thereby brace the shoe against displacement by the frictional drag of the cutter.

l1. A trimming machine comprising a powerdriven cutter arranged to sever surplus upper material on the bottom of a lasted shoe, and a JAMES E. MCINTIRE. 

